Religious Liberty

The First Amendment protects the right to religious liberty. The ACLU of Southern California works to ensure that government does not interfere with people’s exercise of their religion and neither promotes religion over non-religion nor favors particular religious faiths over others.

The ACLU SoCal is not not anti-religion but believes that government must strictly avoid endorsing any religion and should not be seen as expressing hostility towards religion or any religious sect. By ensuring government neutrality in religious matters, the First Amendment protects members of small or unpopular religions from being subjected to oppression or isolation from their government. The principle further protects the majority religion from being politicized by the government and guarantees the right of all persons to practice their religion freely and without government interference.